The Comparative Contrast of Mickelson and Woods in the Golf Battlefields

Saturday was one of those magical days at Augusta National when the roars were caught up in the pine trees throughout the course, and it was also the day that Phil Mickelson emerged as a true contender for this year’s green jacket. Probably the world’s second most popular player, Mickelson solidified his spot as a contender early in the fourth round with solid golf, and then he dominated the back nine to win the tournament.

By doing so, Mickelson slipped into a green jacket for the third time in seven years, becoming the eighth player to win at least three Masters titles. And his win was all about terrific golf as his shot rounds of 67-67 on the weekend to turn back all challengers. Mickelson, who came alive with a thunderous stretch on the back nine Saturday, was steady throughout Sunday and controlled the play while the other contenders faltered around him.

Woods was one of those who couldn’t quite get over the hump to challenge Mickelson on this day, although his tie-for-fourth finish was much better than most people expected after his layoff. Now that he’s back on the course, the focus of the discussion can return to the actual golf instead of what he’s doing off the course.

And the golf this week, especially Mickelson’s dominant weekend, was certainly worth talking about.

It was a few years ago, before Phil Mickelson–playing like the best golfer in the world then–would win a U.S. Open at Winged Foot all the way until late Sunday afternoon, all the way until he missed one more fairway with a driver that was behaving that day about as well as Tiger Woods on date night, all the way until he got behind a tree left of the 72nd fairway that looked like the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

He tried to go over the tree. Of course he did. He’s Mickelson, which means the Arnold Palmer of his time. His ball hit the tree and he ended up making a double and lost another Open he should have won.

This was a few days before that and Mickelson was walking out of an interview through the parking lot and I was with him, asking a question:

“How come when Tiger loses, it’s because the poor guy didn’t bring his ‘A’ game and when you lose, you’re some kind of choking dog?”

Mickelson laughed and said, “Welcome to my world.”

He sure didn’t win that Open. He didn’t win the Open at Bethpage Black last summer, another one that got away. Mickelson played like a champ until the end – again – and then had some mud on his ball just off a green coming down the stretch and three-putted and this time it was Lucas Glover winning the Open instead of Phil Mickelson, the way Geoff Ogilvy won at Winged Foot. Two more times when Mickelson was the heartbreak kid.

Only now he wins big again. Now he has won another Masters, three for him, which means he has one less green jacket in his closet than Woods and one less than the great Palmer. Now Phil Mickelson reminds all the people who think golf doesn’t matter when Tiger Woods isn’t winning that there can actually be a better story, even at this Masters, than Woods. And sometimes the story is still one of the best and oldest in sports:

Good guy wins.

The headlines and the back pages had belonged to Woods, making his return to golf, and major golf, as major as you get. It was Woods’ Masters when he came out of the box playing the way he did on Thursday, with a 68 that could have been better and it stayed that way until Mickelson took the spotlight away from him with a stretch of Saturday golf that will be remembered, those three holes where he came within a couple of inches from making three eagles in a row.

Woods was still there, you bet. Lee Westwood, who comes up short now in majors the way Mickelson used to come up short, was right there, still had the lead going into yesterday’s final round. So it was him and Mickelson in the final pairing, from which the winner always seems to come no matter how much drama and fireworks there are on Sunday afternoon, every time in the last 20 years except one.